Doctor Know-All: A Folk Tale from the Brothers Grimm
· A German fairytale told by the famous Brothers Grimm, this retelling of Hansel Gretel is far from the Disney happy version. A family living in abject poverty is forced to abandon their two children, Hansel and Gretel, in a large forest. The children encounter a gingerbread house that grabs them, and it turns out it belongs to a hungry witch. Will Hansel and Gretel escape and find their way home? Authors: Jacob Grimm, Warren Chappell, Wilhelm Grimm, Engelbert Humperdinck Publishers: New York: Knopf, 1988 Reviews Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Sep. 15, 2001 (Vol. 98, No. 2)) Hansel and Gretel is perhaps the most terrifying fairy tale of all, and this book doesn't cover up the universal nightmare: that a parent would deliberately abandon a child. In Bell's clear, lengthy drama, translated from the German, there's no "stepmother" evasion. It's the mother who persuades the weak, reluctant dad to leave the children in the forest. Duntze's large, beautiful, stylized pictures show the children huddled in their home, hearing their wild monster parent shout, "We must get rid of the children." Then Hansel and Gretel are two small figures lost in the dark, terrifying forest. The gingerbread house, in garish candy colors, traps them. The witch is huge and horrible. Bell spells out exactly what the oven is for ("The witch planned to get Gretel inside it and then close the over door, roast her and eat her"), and the demonic illustration gives the oven a ferocious face. Words and pictures show that Hansel is the protective older sibling at first, but when the witch locks him up, it's Gretel's courage (as well as Hansel's cunning) that saves them. They return to an idyllic home--Mom and witch are both dead: is there a connection? This is not a book for the very young, but it will lead to some great discussions among older kids studying heroes and monsters. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Nonfiction. 2001, North-South, $15.95, $15.88. Gr. 3-6. Starred Review (PUBLISHER: North-South Books (New York ;) (London:), PUBLISHED: c2001.) Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children s Books, October 2001 (Vol. 55, No. 2)) This particular version of one of the most grim of the Grimm s tales is the antithesis of the sanitized folktale. The precise text (translated by Anthea Bell) provides no refuge from the enormous, gut fear of abandonment, andDuntze s illustrations evince a nightmare-like reality that reaches out from the very first full-page painting. There Hansel and Gretel, small and unnoticed, overhear their mother s terrible plan to abandon them in the forest. The figure of the mother looms over the woodcutter father, her pinpoint eyes staring and cruel, her hands filled with the four coffins that will surely be their fates if her husband does not do what she asks; the seated woodcutter, his face a mask of tragedy, has barren branches growing from the hat that covers his bowed head. His arms encircle his vision of the fate of his children: small and alone, surrounded by wolves. In other spreads, the tiny world of the family, evident in their one-room house, is overwhelmed by the hugeness of the forest. The night forest glimmers in deep shades of blue and green; the children, in red-trimmed clothes, stand out amongst the trees, their spiky, yellow-white hair like candle flames against the darkness. The gingerbread house is a clash of color in that still green forest, unnatural and garish in its brightness. The witch, fearsome andtoothy, looms over Gretel the way her mother loomed over her father. Gretel s apparent youth makes her actions even more heroic when she pushes the witch into an oven that looks, literally, like the mouth of hell, thereby freeing her brother. Finally, the scenes of mayhem are replaced with the calm serenity of a bucolic pond and the joyful expression of the children s father, who gathers his son and daughter in his arms, fresh blossoms blooming on his hat. This is one dark forest worth getting lost in. Review Code: R -- Recommended. © Copyright 2001, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2001, North-South, 26p, $15.95 and $15.88. Ages 5-8 yrs. (PUBLISHER: North-South Books (New York ;) (London:), PUBLISHED: c2001.) http://www.clcd.com/#/bookdetail/1/3/nCOojKoPLKGPjomN/bdrtop = Activities After reading the story, here are some fun post-reading activities to pursue! They provide both comic relief and can cheer up a child, potentially saddened by the nature of the book. http://manelleoliphant.com/10-fun-and-free-hansel-and-gretel-activities-for-kids/ Other Links About the author, Jacob Grimm: http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?aid=2458#MtABookReadings Another retelling of the tale: http://www.boblyman.net/engwr302/myth/forest01.htm